by Jeleesa Omala
It is no shock to those who have experienced any form of marginalization that the legal profession faces problems of racialization and gender bias. What creates the bigger conundrum is the role of legal professionals in dealing with these issues. Recently on April 1, 2019, St. John’s Labor and Employment Society hosted alumnae for Race & Gender in The Law: Navigating Today’s Legal Workplace panel. Panelists spoke of their experiences dealing with these issues as members of the legal professions.
May Mansour ’14, an Associate at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, spoke about being a woman and wearing a hijab in the workplace. She was a pioneer in the representation of her identity and culture, and she spoke of how she wished to open the doors for others behind her. She talked about being a mentor and finding mentors that look like you, while also considering mentors that do not look like you. In regards to dealing with race and gender issues, she preferred to confront gender and racial discrimination directly in most contexts. She stated that in the earlier days of accepting a legal position, one may have to be a little less blunt and forward, but certainly, after establishing oneself as a vital member of a legal firm, one should readily be willing to call out racial and gender bias as it occurs.
Ralph Carter ‘14, an Associate at Duane Morris LLP, took the alternate approach and suggested that one should take the high road . He talked about how his qualifications were sometimes underestimated during meetings and how he challenged these assumptions. He commented towards the end that he prefers to focus on work, instead of constantly combating discrimination issues, but there is value in negotiating past these barriers to more effectively meet the goals of his firm.
In regards to firm goals, William Ng ‘07, a Shareholder at Littler Mendelson P.C., was asked near the conclusion of the panel if he was expected to bring in more clients closer to his cultural background. He stated that he did not feel pressured necessarily to do so and that he brought in clients of all backgrounds, including his own. He emphasized that despite racialized bias present in the legal profession, he saw his cultural differences as an asset to his professional endeavors.
As a black female first year law student, I did find the advice of the panelists to be uniquely valuable. However, I was struck by the fact that the panelists spoke with the implied assumption that they were tasked with dealing with racial and gender bias on an individual level. They spoke little of firm-wide or profession-wide efforts at dealing with the issues systemically.
Maybe the reason for this is that many professional and academic institutions generally have few permanent long-term forums and initiatives to facilitate genuine interpersonal discussions and solutions. The diversity trainings that have recently garnered momentum are primarily geared at raising awareness that race and gender bias exist, but do not necessarily actively facilitate long-term productive dialogue among co-workers to resolve interpersonal conflicts and create lasting solutions to challenge systemic discrimination. Perhaps panels like this, where members of the profession have a platform to talk about their personal experiences, is the beginning of much needed personal engagement that would foster commitment among peers to resolving long-term, systemically entrenched race and gender issues in the legal profession.
